Annotated Guide to the Immigrants in Appalachian Coal Communities Oral History Project: Part I

Guide Compiled by Jeffrey Suchanek

2005

86OH194 APP 61

VICTOR DELPONT

Date: June 16, 1986

Location: Darfork Station, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 2 hours

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

As an immigrant from Italy, Victor Delpont discusses many topics related to his work in and around coal mines in Kentucky and Tennessee. Delpont left Italy with his parents when he was only three years old to come to the United States. His family first settled in Lafollette, Tennessee where his father worked in a coal mine. At the age of fifteen, Delpont went to work in the same mine as his father. He later moved to Kentucky and worked at several mines until settling near Hazard, Kentucky. He worked as a coal loader until the economic downturn of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Out of work, Delpont opened his own mine selling house coal to residents of Hazard and nearby communities for ten cents a ton. During the 1940s he opened a laundry an dry cleaning establishment there and worked there until his retirement.

Other topics discussed are the unionization of the coal mines in Perry County, Kentucky, wine-making by Delpont’s father during the 1920s, and the boarding system employed by immigrants in coal camps. He also talks briefly about prejudice toward immigrants in the coal mines.

86OH195 APP 62

VINCENT J. MONGIARDO

Date: June 17, 1986

Location: Bulan, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Vincent J. “Jimmy” Mongiardo owns and operates Mongiardo’s Liquor Store in Bulan, Kentucky. Although never a miner himself, his family operated a grocery store at Bulan, a mining community near Hazard, for many years. Mongiardo talks about his father who came to the United States to work for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad when the railroad began building lines to eastern Kentucky’s coal fields. His father found the people in Hazard to be friendly and chose to make it his home. He worked as a stonemason until his death. As a stonemason, his father was frequently hired by coal companies to construct buildings on company property, build driftmouth supports in the mines, and culverts for the companies and the railroad.

Other topics discussed include prejudice against Italian immigrants, the work habits of immigrants in Hazard, and Mongiardo’s business activities.

86OH196 APP 63

WILLIS HAWS

Date: June 18, 1986

Location: Inez, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 50 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Willis Haws is a resident of Beauty (formerly known as Himlerville), Kentucky. He discusses the history of Martin County, the importance of coal to the local economy, and the history of Himlerville. He contradicts several previously accepted conclusions about America’s only cooperative coal mining town. It was thought that only Hungarian immigrants worked in the Himlerville mines, and that Himlerville was a “dry” town. He also disputes a previously accepted fact that Martin Himler, the founder of the town, was revered by all the immigrants. According to Haws, American workers were employed by the Himler Coal Company, and that the town supported several taverns and distilleries were alcoholic beverages were made and sold. He also makes the accusation that Martin Himler may have left with a portion of the cooperative coal company’s funds. These assertions raise suspicions over what is otherwise considered a utopian coal mining community. Haws also provides information on the town of Himlerville, and states that there was a theater, a Catholic church, and some of the best and most modern houses available to coal miners at that time.

86OH197 APP 64

DORABELL and ANDY KELERMAN

Date: June 24, 1986

Location: Hiram, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

The Kelermans discuss what it is like to be Hungarian immigrants in Harlan County, Kentucky. They do not feel as if they have been discriminated against because of their ethnic background. Children of immigrants attended the same school as the children of native Harlan Countians. Only African Americans attended a separate school. Other topics discussed include coal mining, moonshine, and coal camp life.

86OH201 APP 66

ANN and PETE TIABIAN

Date: June 27, 1986

Location: Lynch, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Ann Tiabian is the daughter of a Russian immigrant, and his husband, Pete, is the son of a Polish immigrant. They discuss many issues related to immigrants in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky. In particular, the Tiabians talk about the boarding of immigrants in the coal towns where each ethnic group had its own boardinghouse. Pete Tiabian’s father ran a boardinghouse for Polish immigrants, and Ann Tiabian’s father boarded Russian miners in the same house that the Tiabians now live.

The Tiabians also discuss bootlegging in Lynch, Kentucky. They state that if a miner was caught bootlegging whiskey, coal company officials evicted them from the company-owned house and ordered them to leave town. Pete Tiabian’s father was one of those caught and expelled from the town. The Tiabians also talk about the immigrant social clubs that once flourished in Lynch. Each ethnic group had their own social club that would sponsor events for all the residents in the coal camp.

86OH257 APP 69

VERONA SMITH, MARGARET ANDRIGA, and STEVE ANDRIGA

Date: June 20, 1986

Location: Totz, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Verona Smith, Margaret Andriga and Steve Andriga are sisters and brother. They are children of Hungarian immigrants who first worked in copper mines in Michigan and Minnesota before moving to Lynch, Kentucky, a coal mining town owned by United States Steel Corporation. Topics discussed include the preparation of Hungarian meals and social activities. They recall the periodic dances held by various ethnic groups in Lynch as well as their educational experience, the prejudice they faced, and family life in a coal town. They also discuss how their parents valued the right to vote after becoming American citizens.

86OH259 APP 70

JOSEPH, GUIDO, and BETTY COSTAGNARO

Date: July 18, 1986

Location: Hardburly, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

The Costagnaros talk about their experiences as immigrants in eastern Kentucky. Born in Italy, Guido and Joseph describe their first impressions of Kentucky and about working in the coal mines near Hazard, Kentucky. Of interest is their conclusion that most immigrants came to Kentucky because they had relatives in the area. Also of importance is their discussion of World War Two experiences. Other topics include unionization, discrimination, recreation, coal bosses, and immigrant housing conditions. According to the Costagnaros, immigrants usually were put to work under a boss with the same nationality because most immigrants did not speak English. The safety booklets were also printed in different languages for the immigrants.

86OH260 APP 71

TONY and BESSIE FUNICH

Date: July 21, 1986

Location: Cumberland, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Tony Funich, a Yugoslavian immigrant, describes in detail his life in the United States. Funich immigrated alone in 1912 when he was sixteen years old. He worked his way to the United States on a Warline Company steamship, spending three years bringing coal to the ship’s firemen. The outbreak of World War One ended his work at Warline. In an effort to find work, he went to Philadelphia where he worked at various low-paying jobs until he heard immigrants talking about mining coal in Lynch, Kentucky. After working with coal on the steamships, he knew he could use a pick and shovel, so he moved to Lynch in 1921 and entered the mines as a hand-loader. He worked in the mines until his retirement in 1958. After his retirement, he was evicted from his company-owned home to make room for a new employee.

Other topics Funich discusses include discrimination against immigrant miners, black lung, and his vision of the American dream. He views the United States as an opportunity for him to work hard. Although he has tried to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, he repeatedly has been denied because his personal records were lost.

86OH261 APP 72

ROBERT LOOTENS

Date: July 22, 1986

Location: Leatherwood, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 45 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Robert Lootens talks extensively about the experiences of his father, a Belgian immigrant, in eastern Kentucky. The elder Lootens first immigrated to Canada where he worked on various farms and ranches before buying a moderately large farm in the State of Washington. Later, he sold his farm and moved to Perry County, Kentucky, where he worked in various coal mines from the 1910s to the 1930s. During the Great Depression he made homebrew that he sold to support his family until he was arrested. The elder Lootens was given probation by the judge and Lootens never made homebrew again.

Although he did not feel discriminated against, the elder Lootens was embarrassed by his inability to speak English well.

86OH262 APP 73

MARGARET MONTEMITRO

Date: July 23, 1986

Location: Cumberland, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Margaret Montemitro, an Italian immigrant, talks about coal camp life in eastern Kentucky. Family played an important role for immigrants as they struggled to survive the rough transition from an agricultural to an industrial lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, Montemitro maintains that immigrants did not arrive in eastern Kentucky because coal operators sent labor agents to ports of entry to recruit workers. Rather, the immigrants came to eastern Kentucky because they already had family there. It was through the urging of these family members that most immigrants settled in Kentucky. Other topics discussed include differenced between life in Italy and the United States, the role of women in the coal camps, the company store and the scrip system, and the trouble caused by the arrival of the U.M.W.A.

86OH263 APP 74

JOSEPH SCOPA

Date: July 24, 1986

Location: Totz, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Joseph Scopa, an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in 1938, talks extensively about his experiences as a coal miner in Lynch, Kentucky, and his fight against injustice in eastern Kentucky. He discusses his involvement in establishing the U.M.W.A. as the bargaining agent for coal miners in District 19. Scopa relates his efforts to democratize the U.M.W.A. itself, including his support for Joseph Yablonski and then Arnold Miller for president of the union. He persuaded Miller to make a personal appearance at Evarts, Kentucky, in District 19, despite Miller’s trepidation because of the violence perpetrated against members of the Miners for Democracy. Scopa discusses the threats made against him and his wife by supporters of Tony Boyle, illegal kickbacks of union funds by Boyle supporters, and illegal tactics used by Albert Pass, then president of District 19.

Scopa also talks about his fight against a coal company operating near his home in Totz. After several years of litigation, he and other residents forced the coal operator to move his beltlines across the river, thereby eliminating the dirt and dust generated by the coal company’s operation. Scopa discusses his involvement in establishing a Community Action Group to clean up Totz, and discrimination against immigrants in Lynch.

86OH264 APP 75

BESSIE FUNICH

Date: July 25, 1986

Location: Cumberland, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 50 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Bessie Funich talks extensively about her life in various coal camps in Appalachia. Born into a Hungarian family living in a coal camp at Clinchco, Virginia, Funich left on her own to seek employment in various boarding houses in several coal camps. She finally settled in Lynch, Kentucky, where she worked from dawn to dusk in a boarding house and the company store. It was while working in Lynch that she met her future husband, Tony Funich, a Yugoslavian immigrant who had come to Lynch to work in the coal mines.

Funich does not recall any discrimination against the immigrant miners. She does remember alcohol abuse and rowdiness being rampant in the coal camps. She states that when her father was drunk, he would beat or threaten his wife and children. Funich also recalls that the company police in Lynch were “bad men” who beat people senseless and threw decent miners out of their homes.

86OH265 APP 76

KATHRYN B. OVERBECK

Date: July 26, 1986

Location: Lynch, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 50 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Mrs. Overbeck, whose uncle was one of the founders of the town of Lynch, talks extensively about life in the coal camp from the 1920s through the 1940s. She arrived in Lynch in 1923 and took a position with the coal company as a school teacher. Her insights into educating immigrant children are invaluable. Her husband was the personnel director for U.S. Steel at its Lynch operation. Their residence was located on hill that was called “Silk Stocking Row” because it overlooked the coal camp and was where the other company officials lived. Mrs. Overbeck states that company did not discriminate against the immigrants, and that the immigrants got along well with everyone.

86OH268 APP 77

JOSEPH E. PHIPPS

Date: August 15, 1986

Location: Middlesboro, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour 30 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

At the time of this interview, Mr. Phipps was president of District 19 of the United Mine Workers of America. He talks extensively about coal mining and how technology has changed it during his lifetime. He began his own career as a common miner, and then became a union organizer. He discusses in detail the tactics, both legal and illegal, used by coal operators to discourage miners from joining the union, and also the role of the National Labor Relations Board which Phipps believes favors the coal operators. Phipps also talks about changes in the U.M.W.A. over the last forty years.

Other topics covered by Mr. Phipps are coal mine safety, and the role immigrant miners played in building both Middlesboro and Lynch, Kentucky. He also talks about a speech given by John L. Lewis in Cincinnati in the early 1960s that stopped a riot that had broken out on the convention floor during a U.M.W.A. election.

86OH270 APP 78

ABEL DeLEON, Jr.

Date: August 18, 1986

Location: Pikeville, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 50 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Abel DeLeon, Jr., a Mexican-American who moved to Kentucky from Texas, describes his experiences working in a coal mine in the modern era. He has worked in both union and non-union mines, but prefers to work in union mines because he feels they are safer. He served on the U.M.W.A.’s Safety Committee while employed at an A.T. Massey mine near Pikeville.

At the time of this interview, the U.M.W.A. was on strike against the Massey operation, and DeLeon felt the company was attempting to break the union. Although he is a strong union advocate, he comments positively on the Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation, a non-union company he once worked for.

Anna Lasslo, a Hungarian immigrant who came to the United States in 1921, discusses her life experiences beginning with Hungary before and during World War One. According to Lasslo, life was hard there, and after the war ended, she and her sister and an aunt decided to go to America and join her parents who had emigrated several years earlier. She talks about the traumatic experience of Ellis Island where the new immigrants were treated like cattle as they were processed through. She then recalls the train ride to Hazard, Kentucky, where her parents met her and took her to a coal camp in Kenmore, West Virginia. There she met her future husband, who was a miner, and they moved to Hazard where he opened a small leather shop. At the time of this interview, Mrs. Lasslo still operated the combination leather and jewelry shop. Lasslo does not believe the immigrants were discriminated against very much in eastern Kentucky.

86OH272 APP 80

TONY FUNICH

Date: August 19, 1986

Location: Cumberland, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

This second interview with Tony Funich, a Yugoslavian immigrant who worked his way to the United States on an ocean-going freighter, states that his life philosophy is “work hard and do what the boss tells you.” Before being employed at the U.S. Steel mine at Lynch, Kentucky, he worked in horrible conditions in a deep shaft mine in western Pennsylvania. According to Funich, the mine had too much methane gas and too little ventilation. For this reason he moved to Lynch where the coal mine was relatively gas-free.

Funich discusses how U.S. Steel treated the miners it employed at Lynch. He states that if a miner did anything to displease the company, he was fired and thrown out of his company-owned house in a matter of hours. He describes an incident that almost led to his dismissal. Funich also talks about the company-sponsored baseball team, and says that the players were given plum assignments and were required to do only light duty outside or inside of the mine.

Funich also discusses mine safety and how miners recognized danger and avoided accidents. He states that until the U.M.W.A. was organized in eastern Kentucky, miners had to work under unsafe conditions, and had to walk thirteen miles to the mine face. Once the U.M.W.A. was organized, the men rode to work.

86OH273 APP 81

JOSEPH A. SCOPA

Date: August 19, 1986

Location: Totz, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

In this second interview with Joseph Scopa, an Italian immigrant, he discusses mine safety and his role in the Miners for Democracy Movement. Scopa credits the United Mine Workers of America with improving safety in the mines. After unionization, a miner did not lose his job for refusing to work in an unsafe mine.

Scopa talks extensively about his experiences in the Miners for Democracy Movement. He contends that Tony Boyle and other union leaders had turned the U.M.W.A. into a dictatorship. Scopa decided to join Jock Yablonski and Arnold Miller in their fight against Boyle. After Yablonski and his family were murdered in Pennsylvania by Boyle’s assassins, Scopa was told to leave the District 19 area. Instead he received F.B.I. protection. Miller eventually became president of the U.M.W.A., and Boyle was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Scopa also discusses passage of a black lung compensation bill for miners suffering from pneumoconiosis. Also of interest is his assessment of several U.M.W.A. presidents he has known.

86OH274 APP 82

VERONA SMITH

Date: August 19, 1986

Location: Totz, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 40 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

In this second interview, Verona Smith discusses coming to Kentucky from Michigan, and growing up in Lynch, Kentucky. She remembers her family as being very close-knit, and that everyone in the community got along and were friendly. She doesn’t remember there being any trouble in Lynch.

86OH275 APP 83

STEVE ANDRIGA

Date: August 19, 1986

Location: Totz, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 55 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Steve Andraiga discusses immigrant life in Lynch, Kentucky, from the 1920s through the 1950s. He recalls that the town was a good place to live because everyone was friendly. During World War Two, many of the miners, including Andraiga, were drafted and did not return to work in the mines after the war. Because of an eye injury, he saw no front line duty. Upon returning to Lynch, he went back to work for United Mine Supply. He also describes the company commissary and the quality of education he received in Lynch.

86OH276 APP 84

MARTHA JOHNSON

Date: August 20, 1986

Location: Betsy Lane, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 45 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Martha Johnson was born in 1899. She discusses growing up on a subsistence farm and her life in Appalachian mining areas, including her deceased husband’s work as a miner. Mrs. Johnson talks about her childhood and the way her family and neighbors raised and preserved their food. She also discusses home remedies. The few experiences she had with immigrant miners and their families in the coal camps led her to believe that they were good and friendly people.

86OH277 APP 85

PEARL W. DAVIS

Date: August 21, 1986

Location: Pineville, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Pearl Davis discusses a few of the changes that have occurred in the mining industry since the 1930s, and about several immigrant miners he knew and worked with. He also discusses in detail the process of making moonshine whiskey and evading federal revenue agents. Davis also talks about Zeb Nugent, a legendary figure in that part of eastern Kentucky. Nugent was known as an expert marksman with a pistol, and he always had plenty of money but no one knew what he did for a living. People speculated that he was either an outlaw or a bounty hunter.

86OH278 APP 86

VICTOR DELPONT

Date: August 22, 1986

Location: Darfork Station, Kentucky

Interviewer: Doug Cantrell

Length: 40 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

In this second interview, Victor Delpont discusses the trip he took back to Italy in the 1950s, and the changes that have occurred in the mining industry since he first came to the United States with his family at the age of three in 1903. While in Italy, he visited with friends he had worked with in the Hazard, Kentucky coal mines who had returned to Italy after saving up enough money to buy a farm. He also talks about hand loading coal in the early part of the century compared to the continuous mining operations used later on.

88OH48 APP 124

JOHANN "JOEY" M. GROEBER

Date: February 20, 1988

Location: Covington, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Mrs. Groeber discusses her life before and after coming to the United States from Scotland. She compares life in Lynch, Kentucky, with life in Scotland. She talks about how her family came to Lynch and the circumstances surrounding the move. Groeber also elaborates on education, employment opportunities, and prejudices in Lynch. Social and recreational activities are also touched on.

Mrs. Groeber discusses the attitudes of the immigrant miners as well as a typical work day for her father. She also speaks about union participation and the treatment of miners by U.S. Steel Company.

88OH49 APP 125

ISABELLA RIZZARDI

Date: February 21, 1988

Location: Fort Wright, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Mrs. Rizzardi, the older sister of Joey Groeber, discusses working in the company store in Lynch, Kentucky. She compares life in eastern Kentucky with life in Scotland. She talks about the life of the miners, and prejudices and problems immigrant miners encountered. Mrs. Rizzardi also speaks about the effort to unionize the miners and the treatment miners received from U.S. Steel Company.

88OH70 APP 126

ERNEST WILDER

Date: March 18, 1988

Location: Florence, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 40 minutes

Audio Conditions: Good

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Mr. Wilder talks about mining before mechanization including mining techniques, the manner in which he was paid, and how United States Coal and Coke Company operated their mines in Lynch, Kentucky. He discusses the changes that took place after U.S. Steel took over the mining operation. He felt that less attention was paid to safety, and that the people in charge were less knowledgeable about mining techniques.

88OH81 APP 127

LENA BRANNON

Date: May 5, 1988

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 50 minutes

Audio Conditions: Fair

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Lena Brannon talks about arriving in Lynch, Kentucky, from Scotland at the age of thirteen. She discusses going to school in Lynch and the employment opportunities available to women after high school. She also speaks about prejudice against immigrants in Lynch, as well as church and social activities she participated in.

88OH82 APP 128

COY BRANNON

Date: May 5, 1988

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 45 minutes

Audio Conditions: Fair

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Coy Brannon discusses his position as manager of the men’s department in the company store in Lynch, Kentucky. He talks about who controlled prices, purchasing, and sales, as well as what the store offered and what it did for the people of the town. He recalls miners being given extended credit for food and clothing during strikes. He also compares the company store to privately owned stores and discusses why a good company store was needed by the community.

88OH83 APP 129

NINA ANDREW

Date: May 5, 1988

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 35 minutes

Audio Conditions: Fair

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

Nina Andrew, who was twenty years old when she came to the United States, talks about life in Scotland and in Lynch, Kentucky. She discusses work, daily life, and education in both places.

88OH84 APP 130

ERNEST WILDER

Date: May 5, 1988

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Interviewer: David Andrew

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

Audio Conditions: Fair

Transcript: No

Restrictions: None

In this second interview, Ernest Wilder relates what it was like to work for the United States Coal and Coke Company, and then later on U.S. Steel. He discusses the reasons he believes U.S. Coal and Coke Company was a better company and the changes that occurred when U.S. Steel took over the operation.